I'm one of those people who loves to celebrate "sorta" holidays, and last week had three! Did you miss them? They would be pi day (3/14), the Ides of March (3/15) and of course St. Patrick's Day (3/17). Unfortunately I neither had pie nor did any math on pi day...but to balance things out I did not meet the same fate as Caesar the next day. And then there was St. Patty's. It's not much at all celebrated by actual Germans: I was the only one wearing green in my office but decided it would be a tad bit unprofessional to go around pinchin'. But like every big city, Berlin has its share of Irish pubs and we went to a great one. I paid homage to my "O'Shee" middle name and hopped along to a live Irish band while drinking cider and Guinness in a large top hat.
Last weekend was again delightfully busy. I hosted my German friend Chiara for the weekend, and highlights included going to a large Roman-style indoor swimming pool, eating at a Canadian pizza place with delicious sweet potato pizza and spicy maple syrup, traipsing through the main sights of Berlin at night, and again visiting the inevitably crowded Mauer Park flea market. I have big plans to show up at 7:30am one weekend to buy all my souvenirs...and so I can actually walk through the place. Another happening thing in Mauer Park: on Sundays hundreds (or thousands?) of people show up to watch karaoke at the park's amphitheater. I'm thinking it might be time to warm up the vocal cords and sing "You're So Vain."
One thing that has become very evident to me about Berlin is how much of a place in progress it is. I imagine if I would come back in 10 years (and I will!), this city may be drastically different. Still only 20 years from the fall of the wall, Berlin is wavering between two identities: the largest and capital city of the most powerful country in the European Union and an alternative haven where street art reigns, unemployment is 17%, and cost of living is still pretty darn cheap. It will be interesting to see which identity, if either, more defines Berlin in the future. For now, though, I'm living in the in between and loving it.
It's a bit of a funny metaphor to make, but this divide can be witnessed on the two main forms of transportation here: the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn. (S-Bahn stands for schnellerbahn or the "faster train" that runs mainly above ground and U-Bahn stands for untergrundbahn or "underground train"). I take the S-bahn to and from work every morning, and it's a bit more of a distinguished experience. My fellow riders usually look very put together if not outright professional, the train is clean and quiet, and the most interesting thing that happens is maybe a saxophone performance. Then there's the U-Bahn. The trains and stations are dirtier, people talk loudly and animatedly, and there are a whole lotta interesting people and curiosities to watch. One of my favorite parts about going out here is taking the U-Bahn back to my station later in the night. Last weekend I witnessed a girl carrying around a huge stuffed platypus and waving it around in people's faces.
The people who make up this city are quite interesting...many of the people I have met are just here, for only the reason of wanting to be, without a job or school. So many have told me they came to Berlin to find themselves, or just to party, or to find themselves while partying. I'm happy to have my not-so-gainful employment, but I also like the idea of finding myself more in a place like this. Unfortunately, though, I don't think better German speaking ability will be one of the things I will find: The incredible amount of English spoken in Berlin means I have gone entire weekends without hearing much German at all on both the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn :/
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